full titleJoe Dowling’s William Shakespeare’s Romeo and Juliet on the Moon, featuring Kate Capshaw as Lady Capulet

I have to be honest. I thought this title was a joke at the Fringe Lottery in February, like “An Intimate Evening With Joe Dowling” clearly was. When it became clear this was the actual title, I have to admit it sounded like a horrible idea. Just to start with there are about 12 different kinds of inside joke geekiness in that title. Then what you imagine the concept is going to be… But this is Christopher Kehoe and the Peanut Butter Factory we’re talking about, so I should have known better. I really enjoyed Kehoe’s one man St. Christopher of Financial Aid, and I was bummed to have missed his Fringe show in 2011. As I have said many times before, Romeo and Juliet is one of my least favorite Shakespeare plays. The script, for all its beautiful poetry, drives me crazy. But here, they’re playing it for laughs, so I’m on board. I’m also on board because the concept in this preview was damn funny. Paul Rutledge and Max Wojtanowicz are involved, and they’re among my favorite actors lately. They picked a Shakespearean fight from the top of the play with an increasingly more befuddled guy speaking to them in modern English. The misunderstandings and insults were delightful. I actually can’t wait to see more, which is a most welcome surprise in this case.

(Sadly, there is no video of the preview. Perhaps Joe Dowling’s representatives are still clearing it for the public. There is, however, a little video blurb from Kehoe himself to tide you over…)

“It was kind of a whimsical artistic impulse,” recalled Antonio Duke, as he reminisced on this past spring when Ashawnti Sakina Ford drove him home each night after their rehearsals for a production of “Imaginary Invalid,” a play by 17th-century French actor and playwright, Molière.

Councilmember Phillipe Cunningham hosts forum, speaks out on the 2040 Plan in Minneapolis
On July 22nd, public commenting ended for the City of Minneapolis’ comprehensive plan, a document that encompasses the city’s plan of action of housing, employment, investment and other aspects of city governance.

In case you missed it

“It was kind of a whimsical artistic impulse,” recalled Antonio Duke, as he reminisced on this past spring when Ashawnti Sakina Ford drove him home each night after their rehearsals for a production of “Imaginary Invalid,” a play by 17th-century French actor and playwright, Molière. Duke mentioned that he would love to play Puck, a mischievous spirit in English playwright William Shakespeare’s comedy "A Midsummer Night's Dream," written in 1595/96.

All photos by Kayla Steinberg
Although it was mainly a plot to cool out radical activism, Labor Day is widely remembered as a celebration of the successful fight for the eight-hour day. Yet, while we’re approaching the United States’ 121st official Labor Day, it is now impossible for low-wage Minnesota workers to support their families while working only eight hours a day.

On June 21, 1985, the Metropolitan Opera announced that it was ending more than a century of national tours. Not quite one year later, on May 31, 1986, the very last tour closed its doors with a farewell performance in Minneapolis’s Northrop Auditorium.

On June 21, 1985, the Metropolitan Opera announced that it was ending more than a century of national tours. Not quite one year later, on May 31, 1986, the very last tour closed its doors with a farewell performance in Minneapolis’s Northrop Auditorium.